This invention relates to a shaft handling device, and in particular to a device for gripping and manipulating a shaft, for example a shaft used in winding machines for winding a length of a web material on a core.
In the plastic film industry, long webs of sheet materials (plastic film) are produced and are wound on a core for convenient storage and handling. This is typically accomplished by friction fitting a core of cardboard or other suitable material over a steel winding shaft, mounting the shaft-mounted core in a winding machine, and winding the sheet material around the core. When the winding step is completed, the shaft, core, and roll of sheet material are removed from the winding machine, and the winding shaft is removed from the core. These winding shafts must be made quite heavy to withstand the weight of the roll, and their size and shape makes them difficult to grasp. Furthermore, because the rolls are typically on the floor or on a pallet, the shaft is often in an awkward position for workers to grasp them and pull them from the core. As a result, it is difficult, tiring, and time consuming for workers to pull the winding shafts from the cores.
Furthermore, once the winding shaft is removed, it must be held up while a new core is installed on it. Then the shaft with the core must be returned to the winding machine. Often two or more workers are required to handle the winding shafts.